Through the Warm Fog
by Dascini
Summary: Tadashi and Hiro are two brothers lost in the woods. They don't know how they got there, they don't know how to get home, and they definitely don't know why everything looks like it's from around the nineteenth century OTGW!AU rather than a crossover. No pairings.
1. The Old Grist Mill

_As suggested by someone on Tumblr._

_Part one of possibly eleven. Depends if there is interested._

_- Mira_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One: The Old Mist Grill<strong>

Night had fallen over the forest filled with shadows, covering up any and every color that shone brilliantly in the Autumn sunlight, colors of gold and orange and brown buried underneath a thick layer of inky blackness. Animals called out through the night, watching from their homes for any and every possible victim they could swoop down upon. Fog rolled in, pushing through the crowded trees and over the beaten and rocky dirt path winding through the discombobulating forest known as The Unknown.

Up in the trees, a bird took off from its perch on a branch, another step in the regular nighttime activities so prevalent in the woods.

"So, I was thinking that maybe I could call him Destroyer! But then I realized that name wasn't really that great, so maybe Megabot? Oh, or Ultraman, like that old cartoon you used to watch. Hmm...maybe even Deceptron? Given how the bot works and all, I think it sort of fits," a young voice broke through the song of the forest, originating from a lanky and fairly short teen boy.

This child wore fairly regular clothes, a slightly baggy and beaten-up dark blue hoodie over a red shirt with a fighter robot on it. These clothes were accompanied by a pair of khakis, and below them, a pair of grey-brown roughed up converse with bright yellow laces, as if reflecting off the hidden shades of autumn. Upon his head sat a head of messy black hair, two bright brown eyes looking up at the other boy walking alongside him.

Next to this child walked a boy a few years older and quite a few heads taller. This young man also had black hair and brown eyes, though this boy wore a dark-colored hat with an orange symbol resting in the middle of it. On his person, the kindly looking man wore a blue-gray blazer, a tan sweater with a long v-neck going down the middle until his midsection where it was closed up with four light brown buttons that lay underneath the blazer, and a white shirt with a gray design layered underneath even that. Brown pants covered his legs, rolled up slightly as to not fall over his light blue and white converse.

The two were obviously related, given how close they appeared to be. The elder of the two remained fairly quiet, nodding his head every now and then as the other boy rambled on a bit, looking around as he half-listened to the younger child.

"Sorry to cut you off, Hiro, but…" the male paused, looking around once more, "...Where exactly are we…?"

"Well, I would have to say we're probably in the woods," the other, Hiro, teased a bit. Really now, what kind of question was that! They had been walking for what must have been hours now and his brother hadn't realized where they were? Okay, well, sure he didn't know exactly where they were, but obviously they were making their way somewhere since they had been on this path for a while. Speaking of, were there really any forests like this near San Fransokoyo…?

The older boy was feeling unnerved despite the teasing remark. He couldn't remember how they had gotten here, and that was more than enough to worry him. It didn't help that the trees appeared as if they had faces on them, ready to jump upon the boys and take them as their victims, neither did the owls hooting in the dark, nor the red eyes drilling down into them from the trees.

Now, the boy knew these were merely regular parts of the forest that would look normal in the light, but that didn't stop him from being a bit worried. At least he had his brother here, which meant the child was safe. Shifting his gaze back to his sibling, the man let loose a small smile, "Nice try, Hiro, but I meant more like what we're doing here in the first place. I don't know about you, but I don't remember how we even got here," a small frown replaced the smile, worry seeping into the older's voice.

"Well, I don't really remember either, but we're probably just walking home, right, Tadashi?" Hiro shrugged, seeming largely unbothered by the situation as a whole. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this, after all.

"Hiro...I think we're lost," the other responded, giving the area around them another look over. Yes, there was certainly nothing around them that appeared even vaguely familiar to their home city. Tadashi couldn't even remember the last time he had been in a forest, now that he thought about it. What reason would there be for he and Hiro to be walking through the woods at night? It was obvious to him that they were very far from home, especially given how chilly it was. San Fransokyo tended to stay fairly warm all year round, after all.

"Maybe we should have left some sort of mark so we could figure out what way we had gone? That way we could retrace our steps. What do you have on you?" the taller male asked, turning to face his younger brother again.

"Hmm," the other thought for a moment, digging around in his pockets, "Uh...I have some candy and a few of the deactivated microbots?" he offered, pulling out the items from his jacket.

"I guess we can use those as a trail, hopefully no animals will try and eat them," Tadashi reasoned, looking thoughtfully at the ground.

Meanwhile, Hiro watched as a little turtle came up to him, bending down to face the little creature. With a small smile, the child placed a piece of candy on the animal's shell, "There you go, little guy, knock yourself out."

The two were stopped in their separate ramblings by a resounding thud. Both boys looked up in shock, then turned their gazes towards each other, "You heard that too, right?"

Giving a nod, Hiro followed after his brother as the other led the way through the trees. The sound seemed to come from further into the heart of the woods, the light of the half-moon growing darker as they moved closer and closer towards the repeating sound. "I wonder what that sound is...someone pounding mochi?" the younger joked, stopping behind a tree as his elder sibling paused in his trek.

"I doubt anyone would be out pounding mochi right now," Tadashi gave a little smile at the comment, "Though it could just be an animal...maybe some sort of wooden structure, like one of those drinking bird toys," he offered. keeping one hand on the tree as he turned to look at his brother.

"Hmm, I'll go check it out, you stay here," the other boy spoke up suddenly, rushing forward into the darkness.

"Wait, Hiro! Don't just run off like that," the elder called out, shaking his head in resignation. His little brother was really such a handful the majority of the time with how pig-headed and impulsive he could be.

"You have to be more careful, Hiro, you don't know what's in these woods," the male chastised the younger, having caught up with the boy behind a tree even closer towards the source of the pounding.

"Hmm," a new voice spoke out, cleaving through the familiar conversation between the two males. Both boys turned their attention beyond the tree, watching as an older male sung to himself as he hacked at a tree stump. The man appeared to be a woodsman, wearing a pack of branches and twigs on his back as he added more and more of the little things from the large plant he had felled just behind him. In the stump of the tree, a large axe sat, bathed in the light of the old lantern the fellow had placed on the ground next to him.

"See, it was just an old man working in the woods! We can ask him for directions," Hiro replied smugly, proud to have proven his worry-wart of a brother wrong.

Without another word, the child made a move to walk forward, stopped by a large hand on his arm, "No, Hiro, wait, there's something weird about this old man. I don't think we should let him know we're here," Tadashi frowned, looking into the other's large chocolate eyes.

"Wait? Why not? There's nothing weird about him, you're just worrying too much again," the smaller brushed him off, going to step up to the woodsman again.

"Shh, Hiro, I'm telling you, that guy-" the elder tried to reason, not loosening his grip on the other's arm.

"I really think you're overreacting here, there's absolutely nothing-" Hiro cut him off, only to be cut-off himself as the woodsman began to sing to himself again.

Going quiet, the pair watched as the old man walked away, his lantern light growing dimmer and dimmer as the clearing was once again engulfed by the darkness of the night. Looking at his brother with slight annoyance, Hiro frowned, "Hey! We could have asked that guy for help!"

"I was trying to tell you before, but don't you think it's strange that that man was-" Tadashi began again, only to be stopped once more by a new voice.

"Hey, I can help you. I mean, you guys are lost, right?" a distinctly female voice spoke up, stopping the bickering brothers in a moment.

The two paused, looking up at the source of the voice in awe. On one of the branches above their heads sat a small bluebird, looking down at them with a sympathetic expression.

"Huh…? Hey, Tadashi, did that bird just-"

"-Talk? I think so," the elder finished his brother's sentence, just as floored as Hiro was by the revelation. By all intents and purposes, animals shouldn't be able to speak, unless of course this bird was an android of some sort. Still, given what he had seen so far...Tadashi really doubted it.

"What? But that doesn't make any sense! I mean, birds don't really have a brain big enough to be able to speak, not to mention their vocal chords don't really allow for it," the younger reasoned, looking up with puzzlement.

"What was that?" the animal chirped back, looking beside herself at the unintended comment about her brain capability.

"Oh, no, no, Hiro didn't mean to insult you, Miss. We're just sort of confused, given that birds don't really speak where we're from," Tadashi cut-in before his brother could do any more damage, though he was just a confused as his sibling. It really should be impossible for birds to speak, so why could this one?

"Are you a robot? Some kind of new android or something?" the younger brother questioned, looking excited at the prospect. He did always love new inventions, and a talking birdbot would definitely be something new.

"'Robot'? Listen, kid, I have no idea what you're talking about," the bird replied, still irked by the child's insult to her intelligence.

"What are you doing here?" a familiar voice broke in, the warm glow of an old lantern falling over the three speakers, "Explain yourselves!"

"And I'll see you guys later, bye," the bluebird bid farewell, turning tail and flying away as soon as possible.

"We were just passing through on our way home is all," Tadashi tried to explain calmly, even more confused now that the old man was closeup and could be studied more easily.

"Yeah, we're sort of lost," Hiro threw in, shrugging a bit, as if it were no big deal.

"These woods are no place for children," the man replied, narrowing his eyes at the children before him, "Don't you know The Beast is afoot here?"

"'The Beast'?" Hiro repeated, looking confused. What was this old guy rambling on about? What sort of 'beast' could possibly be out there?

"What...What do you mean?" the taller of the boys asked, looking thoughtful as his eyes darted along the floor while he thought.

"Well, welcome to The Unknown, boys. You're more lost than you realize," the old man explained, ignoring the question with a scowl.

"'The Unknown'...?" Tadashi mumbled, glancing around them again. He had never heard of a place like that, and there was certainly nowhere nearby San Franskoyo that even looked like this forest.

Just where on earth were they?

* * *

><p>"I found this homestead abandoned and re-purposed its mill for my...needs," the woodsman explained himself as he bent over a fireplace, knocking together a stone and a flint to light a spark. Earlier, after he had told the children where they now found themselves, the old man had offered to take them to his shelter in lieu of the chilling wind blowing through the woods. While the boys were wearing some form of jacket, they didn't have the correct clothing to be wandering around outside in the dead of night during the late Autumn season.<p>

"You and your brother should be safe here while I work," he continued, turning to face Tadashi as a fire grew before him in the fireplace, shedding a warm glow throughout the room.

While the two older males spoke, Hiro entertained himself by placing candy around the trail, thinking he might as well get started on their markers. He wasn't really interested in what the other was saying, so he only half-listened while busying himself with his handiwork. Now if only he had something to use so he could build a robot or something! What the child wouldn't give to have Megabot on him right now.

"So, what sort of work do you do?" Tadashi questioned the other male, filing away everything the old man was saying in case it was important later.

"Everyone has a torch to burn, and this here's mine," the other explained after a moment to collect himself, gesturing to the metal lantern at his feet, "I grind the horrid Edelwood trees into oil to keep this lantern lit," he continued, taking one of the branches from the pack on his back and breaking it into two, throwing the pieces carelessly where they landed under a nearby couch. Facing back towards the fire, the old man went on, "This is my lot in life, this is my burden."

"Hey, Tadashi," Hiro whispered, coming back over to stand by his brother.

"Hm?" the other questioned, bending down so that he could hear his sibling better given their height difference.

"Maybe you're right, this guy sounds kind of loony," the child put his hand up to his head and moved his finger in a spiral motion, the hand signal for his description of the man who had taken them in, "maybe we should try and get away, though I guess he would know the woods really well, given he's a woodsman, so I guess we should knock him out or distract him somehow," Hiro gave a nod, pleased with his plan.

"No, no, I don't think that's a good idea," Tadashi gave a huff of a laugh, shaking his head. There really wasn't any need to knock out the woodsman, he wasn't dangerous or anything. It was something else that bothered the half-Japanese male.

"What? But you were the one saying we shouldn't go near the guy," Hiro reasoned, throwing his arms up in exasperation while giving his brother an annoyed look.

"What are you boys whispering about?" the woodsman spoke up suddenly, turning to scrutinize the pair with one eye, half-turned towards the children.

"Oh, uh, nothing, nothing! Certainly not about running away," the younger of the two stuttered out, always bad when it came to situations like this.

"My little brother here was just worried for nothing, I'm sorry," Tadashi cut-in, giving his brother a slightly amused look.

"Hey! You were the one worried, not me," the other shook his head, not happy to be saddled with the blame.

"Yeah, but I wasn't the one talking about sneaking away," the elder replied, crossing his arms and emphasizing the "I" in his statement.

"Leave if you wish, but remember, The Beast haunts these woods," the old man repeated his warning, his lantern casting an eerie glow around him, "Forever singing his mortal melody," he dramatized, moving forward as he clutched at the air, "In search of lost souls such as yourselves!" now the lantern was held up, casting that eerie glow on himself now rather than just around him.

"What, like in a fairy tale?" Hiro questioned, looking amused at the prospect of a monster stalking the woods. There were no monsters, and this old man's whole spiel sounded like something someone from the nineteenth century and before would say.

"No, not like a fairy tale," the woodsman dismissed, turning away from the boys and making his way towards the door, "The Beast is real!" he growled out. Opening the door, the old man continued, "I have work to do in the mill, when I am finished I will do what I can to guide you," he turned towards them, half out of the door, throwing back an, "if you are still here when I return."

With that closing statement, the woodsman left from the room, closing the door behind him with a loud creak, leaving the two boys alone in the firelit sitting room.

"A beast, huh…?" Tadashi mumbled, studying the floor as he frowned to himself. That didn't sound good at all.

"Hey, Hiro?" the boy called out, turning towards his brother. While the other had been thinking, the black-haired fourteen-year old had begun exploring the room, moving around this and that as he walked around the perimeter.

"What?" the young teen questioned, placing the block of wood he had been inspecting on the floor again.

"You need to be careful with that Beast out there, don't go wandering on your own," the older commanded, looking towards his distracted brother.

"Uh-huh, right, sure," the other replied nonchalantly, picking up one of the statues placed on top of a table in the back. It was one of a plank of wood, a number of bluebirds carved to appear as if they were resting on the piece. Fairly nice, really, though not any help.

"We should probably stay with the woodsman, though, if we want to stay safe. Come to think of it, he never did tell us what his name was," Tadashi pondered, taking a seat upon the long red couch next to the fireplace.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be fine, don't worry!" Hiro shrugged off the other's worries, putting the statue down where he stood, walking back over towards the fire.

"And about The Beast...well...there was a talking bird, so maybe there really is something out there…" the older boy frowned, bringing his hand up in thought.

"Still doesn't make sense. She had to be some sort of advanced android," his brother mumbled in response, shaking his head. There definitely weren't any talking animals, much less a "Beast" to be afraid of!

Lounging on the couch, Tadashi looked at the ceiling, "Still, I'm worried. Something doesn't seem right here," the man's frown only deepened.

"Yeah, well, while you think about that, I'm gonna go take a look outside," Hiro called back, opening the front door.

"Ah, no, Hiro, wait! I just told you to-" the other began, stopping only when the door slammed shut and his brother as gone. Letting out a sigh, the older man shook his head, "Just like always," he gave a little laugh.

* * *

><p>"Hmm...now what is there to do around here?" Hiro asked himself, looking around the outside of the mill. A river ran next to the building, a large wheel spinning from the force of the water. Letting out a whistle, the boy studied the contraption, "Wow, this is really old technology. Why someone would use this sort of technology in today's world is beyond me. I guess some people like to keep things simple," he shrugged.<p>

Heavy breathing filled the air, distracting the boy. Turning towards the source, the fourteen year old inched closer towards the forest curiously, "What is that…?"

Humming soon could be heard once more, and the child abandoned his curiosity with the heavy breathing to pursue this new sound. Was someone humming in the mill? It sort of sounded like the woodsman, actually.

Getting close to the window, the teen peeked his head up, watching what was going on inside with mild interest.

Inside the mill, the old woodsman stood by some sort of machinery, grinding up the Edelwood branches one by one into oil and filling a number of glass bottles with the liquid that came out, all the while humming to himself. The sight was primitive, to put it lightly. Why was this old man using this mill in the first place when he could just buy oil at a gas station? None of it made sense, and Hiro didn't like that.

"Yeesh, knew that guy was a weirdo," the half-Japanese boy mumbled to himself, turning away from the sight.

The heavy breathing took over again, this time sounding a bit closer than it had been before. Looking around a bit worriedly, HIro called out, "...Tadashi? Come on, you can't scare me. I know there's no beast!," but the breathing continued.

Backing up a bit, the boy's eyes grew wide as a dark shape bounded out towards him, the creature's large eyes glowing brightly in the dark of the night.

"...Oh no."

* * *

><p>"And then this mill...and the clothing…" Tadashi thought to himself, sitting up once more on the couch, one hand on his chin. None of it made sense, none of it at all. Just how had he and Hiro ended up here?<p>

A low growling sound filled the air, and the male's head immediately shot up, eyes wide, "...Hiro?" he called out worriedly, "Hiro!"

"What's happening?" the woodsman suddenly burst through the side door, "Where's your brother?"

"I-I don't know," the other stuttered out, worried beyond belief for his sibling. He knew he shouldn't have let the younger boy go out on his own! They had already lost their parents, there was no way that Tadashi would ever let Hiro die on him.

In the next moment, the front door was thrown open, the missing boy slipping in, looking worse for the wear, "Oh man...that...was one big dog…"

Before either could question the child, a large dark creature burst through the door, growling in a frenzied rage. Hiro was thrown back, landing on the stairway with a thump, though thankfully unharmed by the toss.

"Is that…?!" Tadashi exclaimed, staring in horror at the terrifying creature now taking up space in the once warm sitting room.

"Stay back, boys!" the old man commanded, raising his axe above him as if ready to strike, "This creature which is known as," he suddenly stopped, suddenly flailing and falling over as he stepped on the statue Hiro had dropped before. To make matters worse, the wooden log the boy had been investigating before lay in the woodsman's way, providing a hard surface for the man's head to hit against, effectively knocking him out.

"Uh...oops," Hiro offered up after a moment of stunned silence, having the decency to look abashed by what he had unintentionally caused.

"Ah, Hiro, now's not the time for that!" the elder brother called out, trying his best to fend off the creature with the fan that had been in front of the fireplace. The situation seemed grim, but Tadashi would be damned if he let his brother die here. Still holding the gate up to block the beast's bite, the man turned towards his brother, "Hiro, get out of here! I'll hold him off for as long as I can!"

"What! No! Not without you, I'm not leaving you," the boy shook his head, refusing to even think about leaving his sibling behind. While Tadashi wanted to protect Hiro, the teen wouldn't be able to handle it if he were to lose his brother. He had already lost his parents before he had even truly known them, there was no way he would ever be willing to lose Tadashi too, even if it meant he would be putting himself in danger.

"Hiro, no, what are you-" the other started, watching with wide eyes as his brother picked up one of the leftover logs of wood.

"Stay away from my brother!" the teen shouted, whacking the creature with the log, punctuating each word with another hit. Even if it wasn't much, he would do what he could to help out.

This caused the creature to shift its attention, leaving Tadashi alone as it now advanced on Hiro.

Throwing aside the fire fan, Tadashi rushed forward, dashing past the beast and grabbing Hiro's arm, "Come on, we've got to run! I'm not leaving you," he repeated the other's previous statement with a small reassuring smile.

The boy stared wide-eyed for a moment, then gave a nod, "Right," and followed after his brother.

The two brothers ran through the door and to the adjacent mill, hoping to somehow make it outside and as far away from the monster chasing them as possible. Unfortunately for them, the creature was not so willing to give up chase. With a growl, the beast cornered Tadashi on the far side of the bottom floor to the mill, the man just barely dodging the attack and running over the other side where his younger sibling stood watching, "Hiro!" he called out.

"Okay, I admit, maybe there really is a beast," the teen spoke up, staring wide-eyed at the creature struggling to get to them. As luck would have it, the monster had crashed into a large wooden table, throwing it backwards and effectively dazing itself for a few moments.

Tadashi glanced around the dirtied room, searching for some sort of escape in the little time they had. All he found was a bag of potatoes, something he could at least try and use as a weapon. Following his sibling's example, Hiro took a few of the potatoes, throwing them at the creature in an attempt to dissuade it from eating them. Often times a predator would give up on chasing prey if they proved too troublesome to catch, and they were definitely the prey in this situation!

The crops did little, though, and the two boys watched from behind a large concrete ring as the beast let out a roar and clambered up towards them. They had been standing on a raised platform, and the monster had managed to tip it over with its strength, throwing the two boys to the ground and lodging itself behind the newly fallen wooden barrier.

"We've got to get out here!" Tadashi exclaimed, searching around the room for some sort of escape. Meanwhile, the animal clawed desperately at the wooden blockade, growling in a threatening manner all the while. It would be very bad if they were to be caught by the beast.

A pull on his sleeve distracted the man, his attention shifting to his younger brother, "Over there!" Hiro shouted, pointing over towards a large wooden ladder leaned against the wall.

"Right," the other nodded, following the younger's finger.

Without another word, the two boys scrambled up the ladder and inched their way along the ledge, making it up to the second-level platform. Moving quickly, the boys opened up a hatch and scrambled onto the roof, hoping to escape from their pursuer.

It was only half a moment later that the beast came bursting through the ceiling, cornering the two of them on the edge of the roof.

Tadashi moved to stand in front of Hiro, staring down the beast in a threatening manner, "Hiro, I'll try and distract it, you escape!"

"No way! I said it before, but I'm not leaving you," the child shook his head, adamant in his refusal.

There had to be something he could do! Digging around in his pockets, the boy paused at the pieces of candy he found. Well, it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a shot!

"Take this!" the teen shouted, throwing some of the candy over the edge of the roof and towards the water wheel that churned below them.

In a flash, the creature moved, jumping off the roof in pursuit of the falling good. As fate would have it, the beast fell into the water wheel, getting caught as it turned, the wheel creaking with the force needed to try and move the monster. In a matter of moments, the animal spit out a black blob and fell into the water.

The force from the wheel proved to be too much, though, and the house crumbled to pieces, Hiro and Tadashi falling into the stream with yells.

Tadashi rose up first, shaking himself of the water and stepping out of the fairly shallow stream. Moving over to the leftover blob, the young adult watched confusedly as a small black turtle with a piece of candy on its back walked away. Had the turtle somehow caused the monster to appear?

"Hey, Tadashi, look!" the younger brother's voice suddenly cut-in, causing the other to turn his attention back to the stream.

"Hiro? Are you okay?" Tadashi questioned, watching as the other boy emerged from the water, a fairly large white and rust-colored dog following after him.

"Yeah! The beast turned into this dog after it spit out that black blob. Weird, huh?" the teen questioned, patting the animal on the back.

The dog let out a bark, shaking itself from the water and soaking Hiro once again, "Oh, come on," the boy slumped over in defeat, water dripping off of him as the dog walked away. Shaking himself again, the teen called out, "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"Haha," Tadashi chuckled a bit at the sight, turning back to look at the mill. Wait, now that he thought about it, where was the-

"The mill is destroyed, the oil...all gone!" the woodsman cried out suddenly, staring at the destroyed millhouse with a forlorn expression. Getting down on his knees, the man cradled the empty remains of one of the glass bottles, a stain as dark as the night sky sticking to the ground beneath it.

"I-I'm sorry," Tadashi apologized, looking ashamed. Pointing towards the nearby sleeping canine, the college student continued, "But, well, at least we got the beast problem solved, right...?"

"The dog?! That is not The Beast!" the woodsman exclaimed, the lost axe safely in his grasp once more, "The Beast cannot be mollified like some farmer's pet!" he continued, stalking forward towards the water while Tadashi looked on, shocked at the revelation. Just what was The Beast then, if this horrifying monster had not been it?

"He stalks into the night," the man went on, continuing towards the river as he swung down with the axe he had picked up inside and chopped a piece of a nearby rock off, "He sings like the four winds, He is the death of hope! He steals the children, and then he…he'll...ruin...the...the..." the old man broke off into mumbling, sitting down besides the bank with a devastated expression.

"I-I'm so sorry...we...we were just trying to help," the man offered, unsure of what to do. He wanted to comfort the other, really he did, but he felt it would be unappreciated.

"Boy, you have it wrong! You did not try and help, you tried to sacrifice yourself! You are the elder child, you should be there for your brother, not offering yourself up again and again as a sacrifice," the woodsman stood up, turning around the point at Tadashi in an accusatory manner.

"I-I'm sorry, I never really thought of it that way," the college-aged boy apologized, looking shocked, "Maybe I can fix it…? I mean, with some time and with the right materials I could probably..." Tadashi ended with a mumble, looking at the ground. It had never really occurred to him that he was offering to abandon Hiro like that.

Shaking his head, the old man spoke, "You must go….Take your brother north, look for a town," he commanded, pointing towards a path past the flowing water.

"T-Thanks," the man gave a bow of his head, still embarrassed by how badly they had managed to mess up. Looking towards his equally shocked brother, the boy gave a nod, "Come on, Hiro."

As the boys jumped over the stones and waded through the river, the woodsman called out to them once more, "One last thing, beware The Unknown! Fear The Beast! And leave these woods, if you can," he narrowed his eyes, "It is your burden to bear!"

"Uhm, yeah, right," Hiro gave a nod, pulling at his brother's hand in an attempt to escape faster, "got it."

"And, boy, you are the younger child, give your brother some leeway sometimes, and don't throw yourself into dangerous situations as well," the man advised, looking at the teen.

"I won't," the boy gave a nod, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Still, the old man did have a point, especially about Tadashi's martyr tendencies.

Hours later found the boys walking along the path, neither speaking much since they had broken away from the old man. Hiro was the first to break it, two large eyes turning towards his brother's form, "...So, uh, any idea where we are, exactly? I'm starting to think we walked into a fairy tale at this point."

The older had been thinking hard about the man's words, and was snapped from his thoughts by his younger sibling's comment. Giving him a smile, the man replied, "I don't know, but I guess we'll have to find out at this next village."

"As long as there are no more rabid wolf-beast-dogs, I think I'm good," Hiro stretched, flashing his brother a playful grin.

"Heh, better hope you don't find a mirror then," the other countered, keeping up the attempt at banter, "One look and you'd mistake yourself for a beast with this messy hair of yours," Tadashi laughed, messing with the other's hair as he spoke.

"Hey! You made it worse!" the teen replied, moving up to pat down his hair as his brother simply laughed.

Above them, a bluebird watched the two boys walk away, careful not to be spotted.


	2. Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee

_Here we are, chapter two._

_I'm noticing how hard it is for me to try and keep these fellows IC in their setting, I keep thinking of Wirt and Greg when I should be thinking of Tadashi and Hiro._

_Oh well. I apologize for any typos and for the lateness of it. _

_Hope you enjoy._

_- Mira_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Hard Times at the Huskin' Bee<strong>

Leaves adorned in oranges and browns swayed with the autumn winds, a number flying off to be carried away lands yet unseen. In the morning sky, a flock of geese flew high among the clouds, on their journey to warmer waters for the coming winter season. The sky was stained a murky grey color, here and there clouds left dots of white to mix in with the dark mess as the wonderful golden hue of the rising sun slowly made its way up and into the air, chasing out the remnants of the night.

On the ground below, a cricket sat upon a leaf, playing its tune among the gentle swaying of the wind. A group of turkeys walked through the path in the woods, in search of food and nourishment as the cold season was soon to approach. The end of fall had undoubtedly come to The Unknown, caressing the forest with tendrils of gold and brown in the way only nature can.

Along the leaf-covered path walked two brothers, making their way through the clusters of trees in hopes of encountering a village. The taller of the two walked along a bit ahead of the other, seeming to be lost in thought as he stared at the ground. This young adult strode forward, eyes kept on the ground as he rambled on to the trees around him. It was obvious to any that Tadashi was worried about how they could make it home, and as such he had begun to try and think up some way the two brothers could escape from this strange land and return to San Fransokoyo.

Next to him, his younger brother's eyes roamed their surroundings, taking in the breath-taking picture autumn had painted for them. While it was a nice forest, the boy wanted to go home-there was a certain project he wanted to continue working on at home, and his older brother's ramblings were starting to get a little repetitive. Clearing his throat as to get his brother's attention, the teenager spoke up, "So, uh, it's almost morning, huh? I feel like we should have found the town that crazy old guy was talking about," turning his gaze to his elder sibling, he continued, "I mean, we have been walking for hours, and there's only so much of the world that has yet to be unexplored. Hey, do you think maybe we shouldn't have trusted that guy? He seemed a bit...you know," Hiro questioned, moving his finger in a spiraling motion next to his head as to imply the woodsman had been insane.

Really, though, the guy had seemed to have a few screws loose. Not only did he dress strangely, but he went on and on about things the child couldn't even begin to comprehend. Heck, the guy had started rambling to himself at certain points, not to mention that axe he had hadn't helped to make him seem any more sane. Could they really just trust some random guy they had met in the woods?

"I don't know," Tadashi shrugged in response, pausing in his antics, "But I think we should focus on getting back home. Have you been listening to anything I've been saying for the past few hours? I'm getting worried about Aunt Cass," the elder frowned, turning his gaze towards his younger brother's own nonchalant expression.

Hiro frowned at that, standing up a bit taller. Letting out a sigh, the teenager replied, "I don't really know...nothing here even looks remotely like San Fransokoyo."

To be honest, the thought of their aunt wondering where they were, sitting alone in that cafe, and thinking they were missing was something to worry about. The poor woman had already lost their parents, Aunt Cass and the brothers were a family now. There was no way they were going to leave her alone, they had to make it home.

"For now, we'll just have to keep looking for the village the woodsman mentioned," the taller replied, moving forward as to outpace his smaller brother a bit. Tadashi was a good few heads taller than his brother, so it was easier for the young adult to walk faster than his sibling. Not that he would go very far forward. He wouldn't want Hiro to get lost alone out here. If there was one good thing about this whole situation, it was that he and Hiro were together. Tadashi couldn't even begin to imagine how disastrous it would be if only one of them were lost here. Now, where could this town be?

"Help!" a feminine voice called out, pulling Hiro's attention away from watching his elder sibling walk onwards.

"Huh?" he mumbled to himself, eyes widening. Trying to discern the source of the call for aid, the dark haired boy's eyes scanned the scenery around him.

"I'm stuck!" the voice exclaimed once more.

"Tadashi, hold on a second...did you hear that?" the teen questioned, calling out to his brother in an attempt to get the other to slow down. He definitely did not want to end up alone here, but there was clearly someone asking for help.

Stopping in front of a tree, Tadashi was quick to reply with a question, "What is it?" then paused, slowly reading the sign nailed onto the tree he now stood in front of. Mind immediately shifting gears, the college student turned around excitedly, "Hey, look! Pottsfield, one mile...That must be the town the woodsman was talking about! How about we go this way?" the boy read to his sibling, ecstatic at seeming to have found where they needed to go.

"Hold on a second, I heard something," the other responded, slowly turning around and looking at the foliage around him. That voice had to come from somewhere nearby...

"Hiro, wait-" the older began, watching his charge turn and walk away. Watching his brother move around, the boy frowned in thought. What on earth was Hiro looking for here? It wasn't going to be another monster, was it? Tadashi wasn't so certain he would be able to fight another beast off so soon.

"Hello...?" Hiro called out, carefully scanning the various bushes and trees around them. The teen was more than willing to go to this "Pottsfield" for help, but he had to know where this call for aid was coming from. He couldn't just leave someone who needed help, that wasn't that Hamada way. Calling out once again, the messy-haired boy continued, "Hello?"

"Hey, you!" the mysterious voice spoke again, a rustling a leaves following its appearance.

"Who, me?" the teen questioned, immediately turning around to face the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from behind him… Was someone hiding in that blackberry bush? They had to be pretty small to fit in there, unless they were crouching down, of course.

"Yeah, you," the mystery person responded, tone short.

"Uh, someone in here?" the five-foot nothing boy replied, peeking his head into the bush while bending down so as to be able to look around and inside the shorter plant. A familiar bluebird lay in the tangled vine of the blackberry bush, staring at the boy with slight apprehension. Recognizing the anime to be the strange talking bird from the night before, Hiro greeted, "Oh, hey, it's the impossible talking bird again."

"Oh, it's you again," the bird replied, flapping her wings and kicking her feet a bit as she tried to escape from her confines, "I'm stuck. Help me out of here and I'll owe you a favor!"

"A favor? What kind of favor…?" he questioned, looking a bit suspicious yet intrigued.

"Nothing too crazy or anything, I'll just do you a good turn," the female clarified, continuing to struggle a bit as she spoke.

"So, you're saying you're not some sort of magical talking bird that has the power to grant any wish?" the boy teased, seeming to want to continue to prod at the fact that this was indeed a talking animal.

"No, well, yes, but I don't have magic powers. I can just talk," the bluebird replied, a bit annoyed at the other's insistence that she couldn't really exist..

"So you're a robot then," Hiro clarified, unwilling to believe in any sort of supernatural magic mumbo-jumbo. He would not rest until this issue was cleared!

Tadashi came up behind him, curious as to what his younger brother could possibly be doing in a bush for so long. It seemed as though the other were talking to someone hidden in the plant, but that couldn't be, right? Unless there were someone else here with them...but Hiro would tell him if it was someone dangerous, so there wasn't any need to worry, right? The boy didn't seem frightened or worried in the slightest, so he couldn't be facing down another beast.

"Hiro, who are you talking to in there?" the boy questioned, staring at the younger's back, "We really should be getting on our way to Pottsfield."

"Oh, right, let me just," the other responded, easily moving the vines and letting the bird go free.

"Huh?" Tadashi questioned, watching in confusion as the female bluebird from earlier flew out of the bush and into the air, free at last.

"Thanks! I owe you a favor, so, uhm…" she began, the elder brother staring up at her in surprise, "You two are lost kids with no purpose in life, right?"

"Uh...," Hiro raised a brow at that, putting his hand in his pocket as he stared at the little animal. Next to him, his elder brother frowned at the comment. Why would the bluebird ask them that? She seemed to be the same one from earlier, but now she was much more rude.

"How 'bout I bring you to Adelaide of the pasture," she spoke, the sunlight shining briefly for a moment at the mention of the as of yet unmet person's name, "the good woman of the woods!"

Hiro continued to stare at the talking bird with a raised brow, still churning her previous statement over and the fact that she was indeed a talking bird. Something that should not even be remotely possible. Before, when he had freed her, the boy had momentarily felt her feathers. There was no doubt in his mind that they were real, meaning that either she was a truly magical talking bird or she was very well made. At the moment, he was leaning towards the latter. Meanwhile, Tadashi was looking a bit suspiciously at the girl.

"She could help you get home," the girl continued, keeping her voice light and airy.

"Oh," the the taller of the two replied, immediately loosening up, "that would be really helpful."

"I don't know...can we really just trust a 'magical talking bird'?" the youngest of the trio spoke up, still unwilling to let the subject drop, "I mean, magic talking birds leading us to fairy godmothers in the mysterious forest," the boy mocked, moving his hands around as he spoke, "Is this a fairy tale or something?" Turning back towards the path, the child gestured towards the sprawling road, "Besides, I thought you wanted to go to Pottsfield?" Hiro questioned, giving his brother a look.

"Oh, right, we should probably check that out first since we're already here," the man replied, waving his hand in a friendly gesture and following after his younger sibling. While the bird's offer was nice, they already had a lead to follow. If the town proved unhelpful, they could go with her to this Adelaide figure. Right now, though, Pottsfield was only a mile away, it would be foolish not to check it out first.

"What about the favor?" the girl questioned, flapping her wings and following after the two despite herself.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," the younger boy replied easily, keeping up his pace as he walked the path, now behind his elder sibling.

"Ugh," the bird let out a groan, but decided to continue following after the two. Something was telling her this would be more trouble than it was worth.

As the trio continued to go along, green fields dotted with pumpkins surrounded by old brown wooden fences began to pop up along their path. The morning fog rolled over the land, the geese in the sky above their heads letting out calls as the sun fully took its place upon its throne in the sky.

"So, why don't we introduce ourselves," Tadashi began, turning to look at the bird as she flew down near his head as to make the discussion easier for both of them, "My name is Tadashi Hamada, what's yours?"

"Beatrice," the female, now known as Beatrice, replied.

"My younger brother's name is Hiro Hamada," the boy introduced, gesturing down towards his shorter sibling.

"Who cares," Beatrice dismissed, having no interest in the names of the two children she was now accompanying.

"Hey!" Hiro frowned at her dismissal of him, then shook his head a bit with a small sigh. He already knew that the bird was sort of rude, he shouldn't really be surprised by what she said. Whoever designed her had really gone for an unpleasant personality chip.

"And, we're trying to get home to our Aunt Cass," the college student continued on, giving the bird a smile, "She's the one who has been raising us for a while now."

"Okay, that's great," the bird replied quickly, "How about you and I ditch your brother," she offered, clearly still in earshot of the child.

"What? No, I would never do that, Hiro is my little brother," Tadashi shrugged her proposition off. Sure, his brother could get annoying with his constant lack of care for himself, what with those bot fights and all, but he would never abandon his family! Continuing on, the teen questioned, "So, uhm, is it nice being a bird?"

"Nope," the girl responded easily, no hesitation in her words.

"Oh," the boy looked away for a moment, seeming to need a minute to decide what to say next after having chosen an apparently touchy subject, "Do you what part of the country we're in?"

"Hm, no, not really," the other responded, "I've just been sort of...w-flying around," Beatrice shrugged, correcting herself midway through her reply.

"Oh, I see," Tadashi nodded, deflating a bit at the answer. Maybe he shouldn't have expected the bird to know where they were.

"So you don't know?" the bluebird questioned flippantly, flying over and landing on Hiro's head as she continued to talk to the elder brother.

"Unfortunately, no," the man replied, "Nothing here even looks remotely familiar to where we're from," he shrugged, chuckling a bit at the sight before him. He had always told his brother that his hair looked like a bird's nest with how messy it was.

"Huh?" he suddenly questioned, a crunching sound reaching his ears as he felt something on his leg.

"What is it?" Beatrice questioned, flying off of his shoulder for a minute in fear of what had startled the other.

"Ah, hey, look at this. I stepped on a pumpkin," Tadashi noted, gesturing to his leg as he gazed down at the mutilated fruit on his foot.

"Aha!" Hiro suddenly exclaimed, not having been listening to his elder sibling, and pointed excitedly towards the sprawling village in front of them, "Pottsfield!" he cried. The child turned around as his two compatriots walked forward to meet him, "See! Now-huh?" he paused, stopping mid-stride as he heard a crunching sound.

Looking down in surprise, the child stared at the small pumpkin his foot had now claimed as a home, "What the-?"

Violently kicking at his foot, the boy struggled to get the orange mess off of his lower leg. It took him a minute, but the teen managed to free his lower appendage, glad to no longer be trapped in the dastardly fruit.

Immediately turning back to face the village as if the last few minutes had not occurred, the young boy placed his hands on his hips, "Alright! This is our ticket to get back home, right, Tadashi?"

"You got that right, knucklehead," the other chuckled, pulling the pumpkin off of his own foot, "Let's go, I'm sure someone there can give us some help."

The three made their way into town, walking down the hilly dirt road and into the silent village. There were numerous buildings here and there, though there was nary a sign of a person that any of the three could see. The early morning sunlight cast streams of golden rays upon areas of the town, illuminating certain areas, though shadows covered the ground behind every building.

"Hello?" Tadashi called out, eyes scanning the area for any sign of another human being, "Is anyone here?" he called out again, raising his voice a bit in case someone did not hear him.

"Hm," the boy frowned, turning his head this way and that as they walked, "Do either of you two see anybody?"

"Nope," Hiro shrugged, turning his gaze to meet his older brother's gaze with a bored one, "Oh, wait, I see someone!" he grinned cheekily, pointing to his elder brother, "I see you, and me, and a talking bird, and a bunch of empty houses."

"...Not what I meant, Hiro. Come on, this is serious," the other responded with a frown, gently pushing his younger brother's hand away.

"Hey, not to be obnoxious, but an abandoned ghost town doesn't seem like it's gonna be that useful getting you guys home," Beatrice pointed out, turning to address Tadashi from her perch on Hiro's head.

Shaking his head, the college student turned around, unwilling to give up. There had to be someone here that could help, and he was determined to find them, Splitting up with his brother, Tadashi approached a house with the door slightly ajar, "There's got to be somebody," he reasoned. "Somewhere…"

Knocking on the wooden door, the taller boy called out, "Excuse me?" he opened the door, peeking his head through the crack, "Is there anyone here?"

Opening the door wider with a creak, the young adult stared in confusion at the sight that greeted him, "...Hello?" he questioned, watching as a turkey rested its head upon the cloth-covered table in the room.

As the bird raised its head, the man stumbled back a bit with his words, puzzled by the situation, "Oh, I'm sorry, uh," he began, eyes glancing from side to side as if searching for whoever it was that took care of the bird, "I'm just looking for a phone," he offered as an explanation. If Beatrice could talk, who was to say that this animal wasn't also able to? From what he had observed, this place had things far stranger than a talking turkey.

The animal merely blinked in response.

"Ah, uh, I'm sorry, I'll be going," Tadashi apologized nervously, closing the door a bit and fleeing from the scene. Well, it seemed as if that was one animal that couldn't talk, which meant Beatrice was likely a special case.

Back inside, the animal flopped back onto the table.

"Did you find anything?" Beatrice asked upon the boy's return, watching as the man strode up to them.

"Unfortunately not. Where's Hiro?" he questioned, noting the absence of his younger sibling.

"Hey, do you hear that?" the teen asked, kicking his legs from on top of the haystack he had been left by behind a building. How the other had managed to find a seat up there was beyond Tadashi.

"Hear what?" the elder questioned, following his brother's pointed thumb to the large barn house a bit down the way from them. Singing seemed to reverberate from the building, filling the otherwise silent air with the sound of human life.

"People!" the brothers gasped simultaneously, looking towards each other in surprised excitement. If they could find someone, they could finally get home! This was their chance!

Making their way down the path, the group of three found themselves peering into the ajar door, watching as a group of what appeared to be people that were covered head to toe in various crops danced around in the large barn. There was a maypole a number of them were spinning around, singing cheerfully all the while, with carved pumpkins on their heads. In another corner, a group of people stood husking corn, in another, people were peeling apples with small knives; off to the corner, two people danced in a circle with a cat, and off to another side, a man seemed to be bobbing for apples, one getting caught in the eye hole of his pumpkin helmet.

Watching all of this in shock, Hiro was the first to break the silence, "What the…?"

Behind them, one of the crop-wearing people pushed past the two brothers, giving a, "Oh, pardon me there," as he passed by. Turning to look at them once he had made his way fully inside, the man continued, "Say, you folks better don your vegetables and celebrate the harvest with us."

"Uh...oh! Is this a

?" the young adult questioned, suddenly realizing the situation. He had thought for a moment there that they had been walking talking pumpkins. The strangeness of this place had him thinking the most odd things.

"I'm not sure what that is, but we are wearing costumes and celebrating the harvest! Pumpkins can't move on their own...can they?" the guy shrugged, then turned to go join in the festivities.

Letting out a huff of a laugh, Tadashi held a hand to his neck, "Hah, no, yeah, no. you're right," he replied. Thank goodness they seemed to have found a fairly normal place. Though the fact they didn't know what a

was meant they weren't Japanese.

"If this is a

, this is the weirdest one I've ever seen," Hiro noted, scanning the barn house.

"You guys find this place as creepy as I do, right?" Beatrice questioned, eyes shifting this way and that as she took in the sight.

"Oh, they're just celebrating their harvest, there's nothing to find strange," the elder child shrugged, "They seem nice enough, and there are all sorts of strange festivals back home," he countered, inclining his head a bit towards the girl. He would take anything at this point, just as long as they could make it home in one piece. Besides, he didn't want to be judgemental of others' cultures!

"Okay, you're in denial, that's fine," the bird shrugged, "But I'm just saying, something feels off about this place."

Over in one of the quieter corners, one of the townspeople turned his pumpkin-clad head towards them, face hidden behind an expressionless carved pumpkin mask as he dug a carving knife into one of the fruits.

"Er, well...maybe I can find someone here who will give us a ride home," the boy responded giving the frightening looking pumpkin man a wan smile. Turning to his younger brother, the man spoke, "Hiro, for now, just try and stay in one place. I'll come and get you once I get someone to give us a ride. Beatrice, thank you so much, but I don't think we'll need your help, you can leave, if you want," he offered to the girl. He didn't want to sound rude, but there wasn't any point in wasting the bluebird's time if they were going home now.

Letting out a sigh, the girl responded, "I can't leave. I'm honor-bound to help you since you guys helped me, that's the...bluebird rules," she gave a shrug.

"Uh, right, well then," Tadashi replied with a shrug, "You two stay here, I'll go ask around," he continued, walking off to confront one of the participants of the festival. With that slight hesitation, he didn't really believe her, but the boy also didn't really care too much at the moment. He had more important things to focus on right now, namly-getting them a ride home as quickly and easily as possible.

"Beatrice, would you care for this dance?" Hiro offered, holding out his arm in an exaggerated manner, as if inviting her to waltz with him.

"No thanks. No thanks, no thanks! I said no thank you!" the bird protested, unable to stop the other as he meandered onto the dance floor of the barn house, a twinkle in his eye. This was the half-Japanese teen's revenge of sorts.

Up above, a large pumpkin head turned to look at them.

Tadashi walked along, hoping to find someone trustworthy looking among the strange mass of people inside the building. As he came up upon a girl, she turned to speak to him questioningly, "Say, aren't you a little too...early?" she inquired.

"What do you mean?" the boy questioned, looking up at her in confusion.

"I mean, it doesn't seem like you're ready to join us just yet," she clarified, looking at the boy a bit closer. No, he certainly wasn't even close to ready!

"'Join you'?" the boy repeated, furrowing his brow a bit, "Well, I would love to, but, I'm just passing through with my kid brother," he explained, shaking his head and gesturing towards the doorway.

"Folks don't tend to 'pass through' Pottsfield," the woman replied, a certainty to her voice.

"Oh...yeah…?" the college student questioned suspiciously, not liking where this was going. This could be dangerous.

"Yeah! It's nice here," she explained, holding her hands in front of her.

"Er, well, we're really just looking to leave here as quick as possible, our Aunt is waiting back home," the young adult replied, frowning a bit at the things this woman was saying to him. Something did not seem right here at all. Maybe Beatrice had been right after all, they should go.

"Eh? What, what? Leave Pottsfield? Who wants to leave Pottsfield?" an old man questioned, using a cornucopia as an ear trumpet.

At the old man's exclamation, everyone in the barn house stopped in their festivities, turning to face the speaker and the man he was talking to.

"Oh, did you get someone to give us a ride?" Hiro questioned, looking around them curiously.

"Let's leave immediately!" Beatrice exclaimed, eyes darting around nervously as the cultists gathered around her as well.

While they were being surrounded, one of the crop-clad people shut the door, leaning against it as to ensure there was no escape for the group.

"We just want to get home, no trouble," the elder sibling explained, standing in front of his teenage brother in a protective manner as the people came closer and closer towards them. Yeah, they really should have left when they had the chance.

As they approached the group, the people murmured to themselves. Why had these children come here? To ruin their party? Steal their crops?

"Uh...what's going on?" Hiro cut-in, glancing around the room once more. This situation did not look good at all, in fact, it reminded him of the time Yama had cornered him in the alleyway after he had won their street fight battle.

"Hiro, you should run, I'll distract them," Tadashi bent down to whisper to his brother, eyes scanning the room for an escape route. There was no way he was going to let his little brother be captured by these strange people.

"Haha," a deep voice chuckled, cutting through the chatter, "Now hold on everybody," it spoke up. The "pole" that the people had been dancing on bent down, a large pumpkin head peering down at the boys, "Heh, now let's not jump to any conclusions," he laughed again.

"Woah…" the younger of the brothers mumbled, staring in shock at the sight. In front of him, Tadashi watched with just as much awe, though he was more quiet about it. Just when he thought they had seen it all...

"Enoch, what shall we do with them?" questioned the old man, gesturing towards the group.

"I-I'm done," Beatrice exclaimed, turning and flying off as soon as possible. There was no way in Hell she was going to deal with this, sorry boys.

"Now let's see here boys," the giant pumpkin spoke, snapping himself free from his role as the pole, "How did you end up in this little town of ours?" he questioned, two thin strips coming together as if they were his arms.

"Well, you see, Sir, we were just trying to get back home to our aunt," Tadashi began to explain, hoping to buy time for Hiro to escape, "We came from the woods with directions from the woodsman," he paused for a moment, "We saw your farms and your houses and we thought, you might be able to give us directions back to our home town," the college student reasoned.

Following his elder's instructions, Hiro's eyes gazed around the room once more. All the doors were blocked, and the windows, few in number as it was, were all much too high for him to jump out of. It looked like the two of them were stuck here.

"Along the way, we accidentally stepped in some pumpkins, sorry about that...And then we heard the music from the barn and, we came to investigate" the boy continued, not able to explain any more than he already had, "If you would like, we could just leave?"he offered. In fact, he really would prefer to leave as soon as possible. That would be nice, yes.

"Now, let me get this straight," the man began, letting out a laugh, "You come to our town, you trample our crops, you interrupt our private engagement, now you wanna leave," he listed, wiggling his strange paper-like arms as he spoke.

"Uh...yes," Hiro nodded, peeking out from behind his brother's protective back.

"When you put it that way..." his elder brother looked a bit sheepish, giving his brother a disapproving look for his answer..

"This one's trying to escape!" the old man returned, carrying Beatrice in his grasp as she attempted to escape and fly off.

"Let me go! I don't know these clowns!" the girl protested, kicking her feet and flapping her wings in an attempt to get away from her captor.

"Children, it saddens me that you don't wish to stay here with us," the giant pumpkin spoke, placing his thin hands together again, "Chiefly because I simply have to punish you for your transgressions," the other tendrils making up his pole-like body began to rise up, wiggling with his words in a threatening manner.

"I told you this place was bad news!" Beatrice spoke up in the old man's clutches, looking a bit squished in his none too gentle grasp.

Tadashi turned towards her, an apologetic frown painting his features. He knew he should have listened to their animal companion when he had the chance.

"So by the order of the Pottsfield chamber of commerce," the creature spoke in a sing-song voice, appearing more pleased than he should be in the given situation, "I find you guilty of trespassing, destruction of property, disturbing the peace, and murder," he hissed out, crawling down so he was face to face with the defensive young adult.

"M-Murder?!" Hiro repeated, looking shocked at the news. Were these people really some sort of group of android-pumpkins then? Had them stepping on the pumpkins harmed some prototypes or something?

"Oh, no, not murder," the mayor-like thing laughed, drawing back again, "But, for those other crimes, I sentence you to…" he began, regaining his posture once more. Tadashi and Hiro exchanged worried looks, wondering what horrible punishment they would have to face for their deeds. After a moments pause, the creature continued, "...A few hours of manual labor."

All at once, the panic melted off of the boys' expressions. Stepping out from behind his sibling, Hiro looked up at the pumpkin man in confusion, "Wait, what? Really? That's it? Manual labor for a few hours and then we can leave?"

Not long after found the boys in the fields, using pitchforks to move around hay and clean up a bit on the farmland. Hiro struggled a bit with his work, almost dropping the fork an endless amount of times and falling over now and then. This was mostly due to his lack of exercise and thin build, and Tadashi gave him an "I told you so" look everytime. The other had been trying to get his younger sibling to get out more, after all. The college student seemed to find it all light work, humming some old Japanese folk songs to himself as he raked at the hay. Beatrice sat on the ground, too little to actively do anything to help the boys out.

After their hay work, the boys were sent to harvest a few pumpkins. Using a pair of clippers, the brothers cut off pumpkins from the vines, loading them into wooden carts pulled by two turkeys. Tadashi did most of the heavy-lifting, though Hiro was able to carry some over with minimal trouble, though he did end up dropping one on his foot at one point and hopping around for a few moments. It didn't very much help that they each had a ball and chain attached to their feet so they wouldn't escape, even Beatrice had one, though that was probably a precaution so she wouldn't fly off.

All in all, the two boys found the farm work to be sort of fun. The younger of the pair leaned against one of the turkeys, watching as his elder carried over one of the larger pumpkins to place in the cart. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow, the boy was powerless to stop as one of the turkeys pulled at the hood of his jacket, clucking all the while in amusement. Although the messy-haired boy struggled in an attempt to be let down, the two birds were taller and larger than he was and seemed to laugh at his attempts to escape from them.

By the time the teen would be let down, he would be unceremoniously dumped on the ground, falling flat on his face. Suppressing a chuckle at his younger brother's annoyed expression, Tadashi would help him up and they would continue on with their work.

As this occurred, Beatrice looked around, noting how the weird townspeople were watching them from the cornfields, popping up as if they were cornstalks themselves. Yeah, she didn't like this. At all.

Later, the two boys were picking corn off the cobs, placing them in baskets. At one point, Hiro tried to take a bite out of one, a bit hungry given how they had been walking all night without food. It just so happened one of the villagers was right next to him, and the boy immediately put the corn back into the basket, pouting at having been caught. Next to him, Tadashi pulled corn off of the cornstalks with little to no effort necessary from him, accidentally pulling one back and throwing it so it hit his younger brother in the face, causing the teen to fall to the ground for the second time that day. It would be two of many times.

As he lay on the ground, the boy met Beatrice's annoyed gaze, frowning at how aggravated she looked. It wasn't like this was his fault or anything! How was he supposed to know the townspeople would be weird cultists? Besides this really wasn't all that bad.

By the time clouds were rolling in, the boys found themselves doing their last task. Digging holes. Why the people wanted them to dig holes was beyond Tadashi, but he was glad it was all almost done, the work was obviously beginning to take a toll on his unathletic brother and it was beginning to worry the twenty year old.

"Whew, just a few hours of manual labor and we're almost done," the Tadashi a bit, wiping his brow of the sweat that had been beginning to collect. All this work was really, well, working up a sweat in him.

"And then what are you going to do? Just wander around, this way and that way, through the woods, forever more?" Beatrice questioned from her seat on the ground next to the boy's hole, giving him a dubious look.

"Well..." the other frowned, pausing in his shoveling for a moment, "Maybe we can just...go with you to Adelaide? If the favor is still open, of course," the twenty year old shrugged, a bit disappointed by how unhelpful this whole detour had been. Giving the bird an unsure look, the child shrugged, "What is easiest, I guess...I just want to get Hiro home before..." Before what? For some reason, the college student couldn't remember what it was he was going to say.

"Why do they even have you digging these holes?" the bird questioned, looking down at the other's handiwork.

"Oh! I'm not too sure, planting seeds or something of the like, I would guess," the young adult shrugged off her question, placing his foot on the shovel as he attempted to dig out a particularly difficult patch of earth. It didn't matter much to the boy, just as long as they could get out of here as quickly as possible.

"Hah!" she let out a gasp, "Maybe they're gonna bury you out here," Beatrice suggested a bit too cheerfully, Tadashi giving her a disbelieving look. The people had been nice enough, maybe a bit scary, but definitely nice. They wouldn't try and kill them, there was no reason for them to. ...Right?

"Uh, Tadashi, you might want to see this..." Hiro cut-in, causing the two to turn their attention to the younger teen.

"What is it?" the other questioned, turning to their bird companion a worried look. Maybe she had been right...he didn't like his brother's tone right now.

"It's a skeleton!" the younger boy exclaimed, climbing out of his hole to showcase what he had found.

"A...skeleton…?" the other's eyes widened, his grip on his shovel tightening a bit. No. No way. They weren't really going to kill them, were they? No, it had to be a coincidence...

"Yeah, it looks like it's been here for a while," the fourteen year old theorized, poking a bit at the silent figure in the ground. Beatrice seemed to perk up at the revelation, looking over to see the milky white bones.

"So then, are we really…?" the elder boy questioned to himself, turning to look at Beatrice, "Just to be safe, uh, Beatrice, could you pick our locks with your talons? I...thin kwe should leave now," he frowned, tugging at his ball and chain experimentally.

"Hoh, now you want my help?" the bluebird mocked, seeming unbothered by the situation as a whole.

"I would really appreciate-" Tadashi began, stopping once the sound of music reached his ears. Oh. They didn't have much time now, they had to hurry!

Turning to face the noise, the two watched as the tall pumpkin-headed man came towards them over the corn field, a procession of flags and trumpet music following him. Moving to look at the bluebird again, the boy held his hand up to keep his cap on, "We need to get out of here as quickly as we can, Beatrice, I think that-"

"Time is up!" the boy was cut-off by one of the townspeople, the student turning to look fearfully at the group lined up before them. Letting out a surprised sound, the twenty year old tripped further backwards into his hole.

"Have the holes been dug?" the old man that started it all questioned, holding his arms out in an inquisitive manner.

"Er, yes, they have, Sir," the young adult choked replied, eyes unconsciously moving to gaze back at his younger sibling in worry..

"Splendid! Well then-" the man continued, only to stop as Tadashi cut him off.

"But, er, there were some other things...!"

"Oh?" the other replied threateningly.

"Er…" the the dark-haired male replied dumbly, Hiro watching all of this from the back with great amusement.

"Psst," Beatrice cut-in from inside Tadashi's hole, hitting her tiny shovel against the small anklet on her foot, "Keep stalling!"

"Alright," he gave a muted nod, then turned back, "Well, we were digging the holes, and, er, we thought it would be a nice gesture if we got some rocks out of the way. As farmers, it must be difficult to have so many rocks in your fields, right?" the boy explained, hoping he sounded convincing.

"Oh, yes, I don't think we like rocks," the woman from earlier mumbled to the others.

"No, no we don't like rocks," the old man replied, repeating the sentiment that was now rippling through the group.

"Oh, that's great! So, we were taking the rocks and," the boy continued on, watching nervously as Beatrice freed his younger brother. He could only pray that none of the strange and possibly murderous people noticed this action. As long as Hiro got out alright, Tadashi didn't care about anything else.

"Oh, that's a good idea," one of the townspeople nodded, looking to the others for agreement.

"I'm glad you think so, we're glad to help in any way we can. So, we were getting rid of the rocks, and," the taller male blathered on, turning to check on Beatrice's progress, only to pause for a moment as his brother and the bird flew away..

"Oh, thank goodness," the man whispered, watching as the two ran off. Turning back to the vegetable-people, he continued, "...As long as Hiro is safe, I don't mind."

"So, what happened to the rocks?" the townsperson continued, holding his hand out to signal that the other go on with his train of thought.

"Oh, the rocks! Well, uhm, we took them and, uh, put them to the side, and," the boy mumbled to himself, rambling on and making little to no sense. Honestly, it didn't matter much now. Sure, he would like to escape as well, but by now Hiro and Beatrice had to have already managed to get far away from here, and that was what was important. Unbeknownst to the boy, a bony hand was reaching out of the hole Hiro had left behind him, the skeleton climbing out of its resting place.

Turning at the sound, the man watched in muted shock horror as the skeleton seemed to dance around a bit, free from its hole in the ground, "That is...!"

"Welcome back, Larry!" the old man greeted, the other townspeople walking forward to meet the skeleton.

"He looks exactly the same," one of the women commented, the others beginning to murmur amongst themselves as they pushed to meet their resurrected friend.

"What the…?" Tadashi questioned to himself, never having even considered the possibility that there could be a walking skeleton. So, in the end, had all of this just been…?

The skeleton rolled a pumpkin along its arms, placing the carved fruit upon its head. Leaping forward, the moving bag of bones sat in another larger pumpkin, pushing out its arms and legs to make it appears as if the orange fruit were its torso. All the while, the people cheered on, seeming to find this enjoyable.

Watching all of this in shock, the young adult didn't notice when a skeleton came from his own hole, letting out a surprised sound and stepping back a bit as the thing crawled from the hole and over to the others, taking a pumpkin from his friend.

"They're all...skeletons," Tadashi mumbled to himself, shocked by his realization. Suddenly everything made sense, their strange words, why they wore fruits and vegetables, why they had the brothers dig holes, "...So that's why!" He could almost laugh at the idea. Everything seemed so clear now!

"Thanks for digging up the life of the party!" one of the townspeople said, coming up to the shocked boy.

"What a wonderful harvest," the tall pumpkin-head commented, watching as the other townspeople danced around the fields with their two new additions. Turning his attention back to the half-Japanese boy, the man spoke, "And what about you? You sure you want to leave?"

"Me? Oh, yes, I have to get back to my brother," the college student responded, having jumped from his hole while the others were distracted.

"Oh well, you'll join us someday," the creature replied ominously, turning back to the festivities.

"I…I guess I will," he relented, watching as the other turned away. Perhaps this was the afterlife, then. Some sort of strange forgotten town of the dead...

"Psst! Why are you still here?" Beatrice questioned, coming over to the child from within the grass.

"Oh, well, you left me here so I decided to just deal with it while you two got away and try to escape later," the boy responded, frowning a bit. The bluebird gestured towards his leg in response, and he turned his gaze to follow her gesture. Oh. She had apparently freed him a while ago and he just hadn't noticed.

"Oh. I didn't even notice," he continued sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he stared at his freed leg.

"Come on!" the bird spoke, urging the man to move ahead. She did not want to stay here any more than she had to!

Hiro stood a bit a ways down the path in the woods, pacing back and forth with a frown. At the sound of approaching footsteps, the teen turned to look at his elder brother, face immediately lighting up at the sight, "Hey, what took you so long, get caught up talking to the pumpkins?" he joked, though it was obvious the child had been distressed by his sibling's lateness.

"Are you alright?" the elder responded, breathing heavily from having run so quickly from the "harvest".

"All good here!"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

He got two answers, and they were all he could have asked to hear. Letting out a sigh of relief, the young adult slumped over for a moment in relief before standing up straight again, "Let's try and steer clear from talking vegetables now, huh? Next time-"

"You're welcome," Beatrice cut him off, a smug look on her face.

"...Thank you very much," Tadashi replied, giving the bird a little bow. Maybe now they could go off to the person Beatrice had been speaking of. Oh, wait, given what had just occurred..."Oh, I guess you've fulfilled your promise already. You're not honor-bound to help us anymore," the Japanese-American realized, giving the bird a slight frown. He had really been hoping for her help on getting back, but if she was done, she deserved to go home.

"Huh, I wish," the bird let out a sigh, spreading her wings, "but you weren't actually in any danger with those weirdos."

"Oh yeah...then you can still help us get home! Would you mind taking us to Adelaide's home, then?" Tadashi questioned, face immediately brightening up at the realization.

"'Adelaide of the Pasture', right?" Hiro questioned, having been in thought for a moment after the boys had realized Beatrice would be continuing on with them, "So, is she a 'magical but not actually magic' talking animal that definitely isn't a android too?"

Beatrice immediately flew over to the other, sitting in his messy hair as she berated him. No, no, no she was not an android, and no she didn't know what that even was! When would this kid get it through his thick head?

Taking a moment to collect herself, the girl turned her attention back to the elder of the pair, "Soooo, yeah, I'll bring you to Adelaide," Beatrice continued, "I mean, that's where I'm going anyway."

"Why are you going to Adelaide's?" the teen asked, watching as the bird flew off his head and flapped in the air.

"I guess, in some ways, I'm trying to get home too," she remarked, following after the boys as they began to walk down the gold-painted path through the colorful forest.

"Well, that's not vague at all," the fourteen year old remarked, giving the other a snarky look.

"I don't have to tell you anything," the bluebird shot back, not willing to reveal her past.

Shrugging off their bickering, Tadashi spoke up, "Well, I sure hope Adelaide is more helpful than that woodsman was. While it was nice of him to try and help us, his directions weren't exactly the best..."

The wind continued to blow, pulling a leaf off of one of the branches. Floating through the wind, the golden-piece from the puzzle of fall looked brown underneath the cloudy sky, its adventure stopping short as it came caught against one of the wooden fences surrounding the pumpkin fields.


	3. Schooltown Follies

_Here it is, chapter 3._

_Reviews are nice, thanks for the ones I've gotten so far!_

_Enjoy._

_- Mira_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Schooltown Follies<strong>

A thick fog rolled over the morning backdrop of The Unknown. Trees clothed in dark green leaves stood tall, singing birds dancing among their branches. Walking along a grassy path, two boys and a bird made their way through the forest towards their destination. A short stone wall stood besides them, small white flowers growing up here and there along its length. The sun brought warm golden light to the land, giving the leaves and the grass a brilliant and beautiful shine.

As the three walked, the elder of their group walked along, talking nonstop to fill the peaceful silence, "I'm just not sure if we'll be able to make it home before Aunt Cass worries too much. A full day and more have already passed and we haven't really seen anything even vaguely familiar. I'm worried."

Taking his cap off and holding it in his grasp, the boy turned his eyes downward, then back to his companions "Are you we'll be able to get to Adelaide's soon?"

"I'm sure," Beatrice droned, not even bothering to look at the other as she spoke. For hours now the college student had been fretting over this and that, asking her again and again if they would be there soon. She was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Come on, Tadashi, there's nothing to worry about," Hiro replied easily, walking alongside his elder brother with a relaxed frame. There wasn't anything wrong with them being on a little adventure, minus the fact that Aunt Cass would be worried, but they could explain it all to her. Tadashi was just over-worrying, as he always did.

Tadashi, though, was still worried. Would this Adelaide really be able to help them like Beatrice said she would? So far there was no reason to doubt the little bluebird, but still, Tadashi worried. And worried. And worried. Putting his hat back on his head, the male relented, "I guess you're right. Let's just keep going."

Letting out a sigh, Beatrice gave a nod, "Thank you. Now, let's get going, we're losing daylight with all of this worrying!"

Frowning a bit, the young of the brothers shrugged, "What's wrong with taking our time a bit. It's not like she's just going to disappear, right?"

In response, Beatrice flew down low by Hiro's face, giving him a dissuading look, "No, we should go as soon as possible. You want to get home, right?"

"I guess?" the younger replied, giving shrug. Yeah, he wanted to get back to their aunt, but this was a chance! A chance to go out and do something! Who knew what they would end up finding?

"Yes, you do want to get home, knucklehead," Tadashi chuckled messing up his brother's hair.

"Hey!" the other protested, patting his hair back down again. Why did Tadashi always feel the need to mess up his perfectly fine hair?

"Haha," the elder laughed again, watching his brother with a fond expression. Pausing for a moment, the male notice his shoe was untied, "Oh," he muttered, bending down to tie up his white laces.

"So, Beatrice-" the fourteen year old continued, walking a bit further ahead with Beatrice. The child was so caught up in his new conversation that he hadn't noticed his elder sibling stop.

"For the last time, I am not a robot," the bluebird cut in, keeping pace with Hiro, "And, Tadashi, keep moving," she commanded, the two turning around to face the taller boy.

"Oh, sorry, I was just tying my shoe," the other apologized, standing up and leaving his shoes untied, "Alright, let's go," he relented, walking back over with them.

As the trio continued on their way, the smaller of them spoke up, "...But really, you have to be a robot," there was no other explanation, and no matter how many times the other denied it, Hiro knew it was true! He was going to get to the bottom of this.

"You know, I'm really not," the bluebird immediately shot the idea down, "So now, we can just keep walking, silently, you know," she continued, a momentary look of long-suffering painting her features. There was absolutely no way she was going to suffer through more of the same stupid questions she didn't understand, the hours so far had been more than enough for her lifetime.

"And-" Beatrice continued, only to stop at something she spotted in the corner of her eye. Letting out an aggravated sigh, she turned around, "Tadashi! Let's go, come on!"

"Sorry," the young adult apologized, standing up from where he had been kneeling on the ground. He had attempted to tie his shoe once again, the action needing only a moment, really, but it seemed like Beatrice had caught him before he could. Tadashi didn't want to slow their pace down, getting home was important, more important than tying his shoe. It would be alright to leave it untied for a bit, right?

Approaching the group for the second time that day, the boy gave a small smile, "Sorry," he apologized again, looking slightly abashed.

"Hey, Tadashi, is something wro-" the younger Hamada questioned, curious as to why his sibling kept pausing in their journey when he was the one who wanted to leave quickly.  
>"Hiro, I think you should be more like your brother," Beatrice cut him off again, landing on top of the shorter boy's head.<p>

Hiro frowned at the suggestion, looking up at the female on top of his head. One, he didn't like her sitting in his hair, it was just a magnet for bird's nest jokes. Two, he didn't like being compared to his brother, just like his brother didn't like being compared to him. Yeah, he knew he wasn't as good as Tadashi, he had already been told that throughout his high school career. He didn't need Beatrice telling him what to do.

"Just always doing what you're told," the bluebird continued on.

"Huh?" the teen looked confused, never having heard that before.

"Just a pathetic pushover who relies on others to make all his decisions?" the female questioned, looking down at boy.

"Hey, now," Tadashi frowned, looking up at Beatrice. He certainly was not a pushover! He was just a nice and polite person. Still walking along, the boy continued, "I'm not a push over."

"Hold on, Tadashi, let me get to my point," the bird replied, gesturing towards the boy with her wings.

"Ah, sorry," the male frowned, stepping back a bit. He might as well let her finish speaking, it was only polite.

"See, Hiro?" she questioned, shrugging her wings, "No willpower whatsoever!"

"That wasn't-" the college student started, frown deepening. There was a difference between being a pushover and being polite, and Tadashi was just being polite. It was only right for him to wait for the other to get to her point before interjecting with his own opinion.

"You need to be more like that," Beatrice ignored the man's disagreement, looking down at his younger brother as she commanded him to change his behavior.

"Hey, Tadashi isn't a pushover," the teen frowned, looking up at the bird on his head, "And besides, I'm fine the way I am."

"The world is a miserable place, Greg," the bluebird flew off of his head, flying down to be at eye level with the younger boy, "People don't want others who aren't pushovers," she explained.

Letting out a breath of air, Hiro turned to the other once more, "Then I'll do what I need to do, I guess," he shrugged. Yeah, he would do what he needed to do, but that wasn't exactly what Beatrice wanted him to do. Heh.

"Thank you, we'll just focus on getting you guys to Adelaide's so I can wash my hands of this whole affair, oh, and if you could pick up the pace a bit, that would be great, okay?" the female spoke, keeping her eyes ahead of her as they walked on.

"...Okay?" she questioned again upon receiving no response, looking back for the first time. Hiro was gone. Of course he was.

Stopping in their trek, Beatrice turned her gaze to Tadashi, "Hey, where's Hiro?"

"Oh, uh, wandered off, I guess," the other mumbled, glancing around them. It seemed like he was still in a daze about being called a pushover, because it took him a moment to fully process what he said. Eyes widening, the male turned this way and that, "Wait...Hiro? Hiro!"

"Cheese and crackers!" the girl exclaimed, smacking herself in the face with one of her wings. That kid was more trouble than he was worth.

Going further away from the pair, Hiro pushed away some branches and leaves, "I'll make something great that will prove to Beatrice that she's wrong," he exclaimed, running through the woods. The cool metal in his pocket brought about a smile on his face, and the teen laughed, "Haha, that's right-" then he paused, "Huh?"

A bell tone resounded, filling up the air with a ringing sensation. Blinking at what must have been the source, the teen ran ahead into the clearing, "Woah..."

A fairly small red and white school-house stood in this clearing, the golden bell on top the obvious source of the sound. Stopping in his tracks, the teen frowned, "School? Why out here?" he gave a look of disdain, glaring at the building. He did not like school one bit, never had, really. Well, maybe when he was younger, but the constant bullying had been enough to change his mind on that.

Running ahead, the teen went to hide behind a large tree, not wanting to be spotted by his brother and Beatrice. There was no way he was going to get caught when he had just begun trying to prove himself!

"Hiro!" Tadashi called out, looking around them as he searched for his younger sibling. Just where had that guy run off to? Next to him, Beatrice searched around as well, eyes scanning the foliage for the missing teen.

"Hiro!" the student called again, a bit more desperate. It had been over five minutes since the other had disappeared, and there hadn't even been a shout in return. Tadashi was getting worried. Even more so than usual. Walking out into the sunlight clearing, the boy ignored the school in favor of searching for his brother and looked around, "Hiro?"

Stopping in his tracks, the brunet seemed to have just suddenly noticed the homely schoolhouse in front of him. Looking at it, he gave quiet, "Huh," then turned to look at Beatrice. Hey, maybe his sibling was in there. It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

With Beatrice following close behind, the man walked over to the building. Unlike Hiro, Tadashi liked school. It was nice to be able to learn and work in such a supportive environment, and his friends only helped to make the experience even better. The boy knew the troubles his younger brother had in school through the years, which was part of the reason he so badly wanted Hiro to get into SFIT. The people were friendly, the teachers great, and the atmosphere was perfect for a young and inventive genius like Hiro Hamada. It would be a good change for the boy.

Peeking his head through the doorway, Tadashi squinted a bit, glad to have his hat on as a shade against the harsh sunlight, "Hiro?" he called.

"Excuse me," a female voice cut-in, the origin from a petite brunette in the front of the room, "Please, take your seat, children," she beckoned, the placed her hands on her hips, "You're late!"

The school seemed to be filled with animals wearing various forms of clothing, each seated in a small wood and iron desk. In front of them stood the brunette woman, wearing a white dress-shirt and a light purple skirt with a bow tied around the waist. Her hair was up in a large upstyle do, and the piece of chalk in her hand signified she was the teacher.

Golden sunlight streamed in from the six side windows, three for each side. Behind the woman sat a black board, and written in script, "Once the bell has rung, class has begun", a phrase that the female seemed to take seriously.

"You know the rules," she continued, pointing to the chalkboard with the piece of white chalk in her own grasp, "Once the bell has rung, class has begun," she repeated.

"Oh, sorry everybody, sorry," Beatrice apologized from her perch on the side of the doorway, "No, he doesn't have a brain, he can't learn anything."

Tadashi frowned at the other's statement, clenching his fists at his sides. Why was she insulting him like this? What had he done to deserve her harsh treatment?

"Let's go, Tadashi, come on," the bluebird gave a whistle, "Come here boy!"

Cooling his anger, the boy took a deep breath and turned to the girl. He had an idea. Fighting back a self-servant smile, the male questioned, "What? Did you say something? I can't hear you because I'm too busy doing what I'm told," he countered, walking forward and making his way towards the empty desk in the back of his room. He had played this tactic against Hiro many times before, it would surely work just as well with Beatrice.

Eyes wide, the bluebird followed after, "What! What are you…" then she gave a sigh, realizing his game, "No, no, let's go," she commanded, landing on the top of his chair next to him.

"Oh, no, I can't. I'm just a pushover, remember?" the young adult offered, having been pushed to the limit by Beatrice's rudeness the past few days, "I have to do what the teacher tells me to do," he shrugged, shifting around a bit in his seat.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, the bird tried to reason, "Tadashi, your little brother could be in trouble somewhere!"

A sudden knocking on the window closest to them caught the pair's attention, and the two turned to look at the figure of Hiro outside the glass. The younger boy looked around the room, gazing at the desks and students inside. Pointing to his companions, he gestured sneaking outside and leaving. Honestly, he would rather meet back up with them than wait for school.

Tadashi gave the other a small smile and a shake of the head. No, he was going to stay here for a bit, sorry, Hiro. He had some revenge to get through, but afterwards they could leave. It wasn't like they were in any danger here, right? It was a good place to rest for a bit too.

Pouting a bit at the reply, the messy-haired boy turned tail and ran, going off to explore somewhere. Maybe he could build something with some materials outside to pass the time!

The two inside stared after the teen for a moment before Beatrice let out another sigh, "Bluebirds have a short lifespan," she started, placing a wing on her chest, "You two are literally killing me every moment I am forced to spend with you!" the girl exclaimed, opening her wings wide in aggravation.

"Oh, really?" Tadashi questioned, actually looking a bit worried. Did she really have such a short lifespan? Shaking his head, the boy sat straight again. He would be more than willing to go along with the other if she just admitted he wasn't a pushover and stopped being rude. Until she changed her ways, he wasn't moving an inch.

"Young man," the teacher in front of the room cut-in, "I will not stand for such nonsense in my classroom," she wagged her finger, "I got enough nonsense from that no-good two-timing handsome man of mine," she lamented, squeezing her arms together and looking forlornly at the ceiling. Clasping her hands together, the woman began, "Oh, Jimmy Brown, why did you have to leave me so?" she monologued, holding her hands on her chest.

Moving over to stand in the sunlight, the teacher continued, "And now, with my father threatening to close the school, and that wild gorilla on the loose," she clenched her fist, staring out the window with a fierce expression.

"Why, Jimmy, I have just one thing to say," she exclaimed, holding her finger up to the window.

Turning around to face the class again, the woman began to sing, "A is for the apple that he gave to me, but I found a worm inside," she bounced up and down, making various hand motions as she sang, "B is for Beloved that I called to him, before he," she went on.

"Whew, that lady has got some baggage," Beatrice let out a breath of air, finding the whole thing to be very pathetic.

"What's that?" the woman paused in her singing, her hands on her hips, seeming to have heard what Beatrice had said, "Young man, go to the dunce box," the teacher commanded, pointing to the small wooden box with bars on the little window of the door.

"Oh," the half-Japanese male frowned for a moment, then immediately perked up, "Well, sure!" he stood up, walking over to the dunce box, "Sure." Left behind, Beatrice voiced her disagreement, trying in vain to get the other to stop.

While he didn't like getting into trouble with authority figures, the man was more than happy to go if it meant getting back at the bluebird. His payback was far from over, and he was willing to keep this act up for as long as he could. Heck, he had gone in jail for Hiro, he could sit in a dunce box for a bit.

"Aw," the bird lamented as the other walked over to the box, slapping her forehead in utter annoyance. This was turning out to be a very stressful day.

Staring at the box for a moment, the college student tried to figure out how he could fit inside. It was sort of small, Hiro could probably fit in, but Tadashi was a bit too big for it. Shrugging it off, the twenty-something year old just sat on the floor next to the box, that being the best he could do in the situation.

Back in front of the classroom, the teacher put a hand to her face in thought, "Now, where were we?" she questioned, seeming to have forgotten her song. Clasping her hands to her chest once more, she continued, "Oh, yes. G is for the gentleman I thought he was, when he first said hi."

From the box, Tadashi gave Beatrice a little knowing smirk, a look with which she returned with a narrowed gaze.

Outside the schoolhouse, Hiro sat upon a large felled tree laying atop a small stream, a deer and a raccoon having taken up residence next to him. On the tree branch hanging above them, a possum hung by its tail, each of the animals wearing some sort of semblance of clothing. His hands on his knees, the teen, continued, "So, I'm just assuming you guys are well made androids," he explained, glancing at the two each of his sides, "Regardless of what that bird keeps trying to convince me," he shrugged, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at the school Beatrice was inside.

"But you guys don't go to school, huh?" leaning in close to the raccoon that was now picking up and throwing a black turtle, Hiro grinned, "I'm not much of a fan either," he stretched a bit, looking around at the trees and plants.

As the turtle splashed into the cold water, the teen gave an amused smile. Well, it wasn't the most fun thing, but it was still better than school. Even so, they could stand to do something else for a bit. Patting the deer next to him, the black-haired boy spoke up, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's do some bot fighting," he offered, standing up, "Er, do you guys know how to build robots?"

Giving no verbal response, the raccoon merely blinked.

"It's easy! I'll show you," the male offered, turning and running off of the log. Getting down on his hands and knees, the boy searched around under the school, "Here we go," he called back, pulling out a handful of leaves and some twigs the hole in the wood, "They're not the best, but we can use these," he showed off, the animals sniffing at his palm.

Over in the grass, the deer picked up an old and rotting log, holding it out for Hiro to inspect. Coming up to the wood, the teen noted, "You found another one," then paused, holding out his hand, "Wait, no, I think the wood is a bit too decomposed," he dismissed, the deer throwing the piece of wood back into the river.

"Sorry, buddy, we'll have to find some other materials," the boy turned and walked off, going to search for more things they could use for their battle. It would definitely be tough, but he would find a way to make it work out.

The raccoon, meanwhile, gazed sadly at the slowly sinking log.

Going over to where the possum stood, the teen pointed out, "Hey, Jeffrey, I think there's a good piece of wood behind you!" he exclaimed.

Turning around, the animal made his way to the bushes behind him and raised a hand, ready to search for some materials for their game. He stopped as heavy breathing filled the air, a large dark figure rising up from the bushes. Letting out a cry, a gorilla stood above the group, arms raised at it screeched.

"A gorilla?!" HiroGreg exclaimed, gazing up at the creature in shock and awe. Turning around, the boy called out a quick, "Run!" and fled the scene. What was a gorilla even doing here in the first place? Shouldn't it be at a zoo?  
>"And Y, yes, why, is the question that's on my mind…" a more disheveled looking teacher questioned from her position on the floor, having continued her singing, "Oh, why…"<p>

"Hey, dunce, this is dreadful," Beatrice stared down at Tadashi from her position on top of the dunce box, trying to block out the singing that just wouldn't stop.

"Oh, really? I think it's nice," the male smiled up at her, glad to be getting his revenge. Revenge was, after all, a dish best served cold.

"Hmm," the little bird seethed, glaring daggers at her companion. She was not dealing with this.

As if a blessing from above, the school bell begun to ring, distracting everyone in the classroom. Pausing in her singing, the teacher suddenly sat up, "I remember like...Oh!"

Up above, Hiro and the animals clung to the bell, staring down in horror, "Gorilla! A gorilla!"

Still yelling, the beast looked up at the group, arms raised as if ready to strike at them at any moment.

"Oh? Meal time already?" the teacher questioned from within the classroom, patting her hair down, "Come along, children," she gestured towards the door.

Outside, the animals and the young teen ran around the yard, running in circles around a tree while the gorilla chased them. The possum hung from one of the branches, swiping at the beast with a stick he had found earlier. After a number of misses, Jeffrey spit on his hands and rubbed them together, determined not to miss the next hit. When the gorilla paused in confusion under him, the possum struck, whacking the animal on the head and knocking him off of his feet.

Giving his new friend a thumbs up, the fourteen year old gave a sound of approval, "Nice one!"

Back inside the schoolhouse, the teacher watched as all of the children filed out of the room and into the next, "You don't want to be late for meal time. My father will be visiting today, and we will need to be on our best behavior," she advised.

Standinig up and stretching his legs, Tadashi walked out with Beatrice flying after him, going to eat a meal with all of the rest of the animals. If he was going to school he might as well eat the food too! It had been a while since he had eaten, and the college student wouldn't mind a bite to eat.

"Quick, in here!" Hiro called out to his animal friends, rushing inside and after his brother and the other animals.

All of the children sat in two long rows of wooden tables, plates of completely bland mashed potatoes in front of them. In the corner, the teacher played a sad melody on the piano, a portrait of a blond man with the name "Jim" underneath it sat above the instrument. It was a somber atmosphere.

"Food? Nice!" the younger Hamada exclaimed, excited by the prospect of food. As a teenage boy, he had come to find food one of his favorite things. Picking up his spoon, the male scooped up a bit and turned to his possum friend, "This definitely beats being chased by a gorilla!"

Sniffing at the food, the animal took a mouthful of it, chewing a bit before slumping in disappointment.

"Aw, what's the matter, buddy?" the human of the two questioned, frowning at his new friend's sad expression. Placing the spoonful of food into his own mouth, the boy chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. Putting his spoon down, Hiro turned to look at Jeffrey again, "Mmm, kind of bland…" he remarked, turning to look around the room.

All of the animals looked tired and sad, slumped against the table or propped up on their paws. No one really seemed to be eating, and the music only served to make everything seem even more sad.

Picking up his own spoon, Tadashi made to try a bit, poking at it, when Beatrice stopped him, "Hey, nobody ordered you to eat yet," she shot, glaring at him.

"Yeah, but," the man began to protested, then stopped and let out a sigh. Placing his hands on the table, the boy looked down at his food, "Mm."

He was not going to give up that easily.

His hand on his cheek, Hiro thought to himself, letting out a quiet, "Hmm," as he pondered what to do. This was all so boring, the opposite of what he liked to do. There had to be someway he could make this interesting! Looking over to the woman playing piano, he spotted the bottle of molasses on top of the instrument and got a sudden idea.

"Oh," the brunette lamented, playing her tune sadly. Oh, if only her Jimmy would come back. Where had that man gotten off to anyhow? That no good Jimmy Brown…

"Hey! I know what to do!" the smaller Hamada stood up, cutting through the thick and slow silence. Moving over to the piano, the boy addressed the woman, "Here, Ms. Langtree, play something like this," he offered, tapping a few keys to make a lighter tune.

Next to him, Ms. Langtree looked confused for a moment, then gave a smile. Playing a new tune, the woman questioned, "Oh, like this?"  
>Standing next to the piano, the teen closed his eyes in thought as he listened for a moment, "Mm, yeah, that's great!" he gave her a thumbs up and reached up to grab the molasses jar.<p>

Holding up a plate of potatoes and the molasses jar, the teen began, "Potatoes and molasses, if you put them together, you can add a bit of flavor to your meal," he explained, slowly pouring out some of the sticky substance onto his raccoon friend's plate.

At his table, Tadashi smiled as he watched his brother, the pug in a sailor suit next to him licking his lips at the sight.

"Alone, neither are that good, but together they can make something great!" he exclaimed, the raccoon impatiently flicking his eyes from the slowly traveling topping to Hiro and then back again, "You've just got to look at things through a new angle! Trying and experimenting with things makes life ten times more fun," he grinned, finally getting the molasses on the potatoes and taking a bite.

At the mention of his own phrase, the elder Hamada gave a proud smile. Yes, Hiro really was growing, and he was growing well.

All around the room, the animals swayed happily at the newly invigorated meal as they added molasses to their own plates, much cheerier than before. All the while, the teenager kept talking, "Potatoes and molasses may seem bland, but you've gotta look at it through new eyes," at this point, he put a pair of glasses on the deer's face as it attempted to read sheet music while holding a trumpet, "Learning new things can inspire you to come up with your own ideas," he continued on, Tadashi nodding his head in agreement.

Behind the young adult, the gorilla slowly rose up in the open window, stopping only when one of the children, a pig, accidentally lobbed a spoonful of potatoes and molasses at his face, effectively knocking the beast back.

"There's a whole world of unknown things out there to discover," at this point, the students had managed to pull out instruments of their own, playing along to the piano as the teen spoke on, "You can't just go with the flow!" Hiro waved his finger around the room, bouncing up and down to the beat. He was really starting to get into this! Not that he would sing. Ever. He wasn't the best singer, really, and it was already embarrassing up here as it was; but he was on a roll, and when Hiro Hamada got on a roll, he didn't stop until he was done.

"Even something as simple as this can get your ideas moving!" he raised his spoon above his head, "A simple little thing. Something like potatoes, and-"

"That's enough!" an authoritarian voice cut-in, stopping Hiro and the other students in their places.

Flinching back, Ms. Langtree looked to the imposing figure in the doorway, removing her hands from the piano, "Father!

"Is this," the broad-shouldered man pointed, sweeping his hand across the room, "what I've been paying for?"

"S-Sorry, it was just sorta bland, so I wanted to spice it up," Hiro offered, flinching back a bit and shrugging his shoulders. He didn't like public speaking in the first place, if this counted, and to have his vibe get ruined so quickly by an imposing adult only made him feel worse. At least it was good practice for the SFIT admissions show...

"I didn't invest in this school to 'spice things up'," the old man crossed his arms, then marched over to where his daughter sat upon the piano stool. Shaking his fists, Mr. Langtree punched his right hand into his left, "I thought we were trying to do important work here! Teaching animals to count and spell," he glanced over to a pig student, the poor child pulling his pants up again and again as they kept falling down.

"We are!" Ms. Langtree protested, "Oh! Please, father, don't close the school! It won't happen again," she shook her head.

"I should say it won't," the grumpy old man said, walking further into the room. Grabbing the trumpet from the deer, "This," then walking over to the kitten, "This," and taking the tuba from the pig, "And this! Are all coming with me," he grumbled, carrying the instruments in his grasp.

Turning to his daughter, the man yelled out, "Now send them to bed!"

"You heard father, off to bed with you," the teacher ordered, holding one hand behind her back as she gestured towards the sleeping quarters.

In single file, the animals changed into their evening gowns and slumped off into bed, discouraged by the ruining of their fun. Tadashi, Hiro, and Beatrice followed behind, the two boys also changing into evening clothing and getting into one of the green covered beds.

The animals all moped in their beds, the raccoon even crying a bit. Hiro watched all of this with a frown, wondering what he could possibly do the fix the situation. Looking at the ceiling, the teen spoke, "Well, that's the last time I stand up in front of a crowd of androids and almost start singing," he gestured around the room, "I mean, this is just too gloomy."

The ceiling gave no response.

"Okay, Tadashi, I'll admit it. You seem like a pushover, but you're not," Beatrice began, sitting on the headboard near the man's head. It had been a long day and she had been through more than she wanted to. Stubbornness be forgotten! Right now, she would rather get out of here and get this all over with.

"Oh really now?" the now hatless boy questioned, smirking a bit.

"Deep down in your heart, you're a stubborn jerk! When are you gonna give this up?" she exclaimed, waving her wings around in aggravation.

"When you're ready to admit you were wrong and change your ways," the elder Hamada replied, eyes narrowed. That had not been the response he had wanted.

Next to him, Hiro looked curious, "What is going on with you two anyways? No, wait!" he exclaimed, brightening up considerably. Hopping out of his bed, the teen turned to his brother and bird friend, "Tadashi's right! We've just gotta get that old man to change his ways!" he threw his arms up. Taking the bed sheets, the smaller boy tied together a rope, "Come on, Tadashi. Let's go save the day!" the male exclaimed, throwing the rope out and over the window, allowing for them to climb down. He had done this a few times back home, so it was all very natural to him.

"Okay, if you say so," the other relented with a shrug and a fond smile, ignoring Beatrice's expression and hopping out of bed as well.

It didn't take very long for the two to get dressed in their own clothing again. Following Hiro down the hand-made rope and back into the woods, Tadashi glanced around as his younger sibling spoke, "Come on!"  
>An owl hooted in the evening air, crickets and other insects playing their nightly tunes. Catching up a bit with his brother, the elder child questioned, "So, what's the plan, Hiro?"<p>

"...Plan?" the teen repeated, stopping his tracks and turning around. Oh, right. A plan. He had sorta forgotten that part of his rescue mission, "Oh…I don't know-"  
>"Oh!" a voice cut-in, the voice of Mr. Langtree.<p>

Eyes widening at the sound, the fourteen year old turned to follow the sound, his brother continuing after him, "What the...?"

"Who'd have thought making a primary school for animals was a bad idea," the man lamented, curling in on himself in the patch between the bushes, all of the instruments he had confiscated surrounding him. Hiro and Tadashi blinked in confusion at the sight, wondering what was going on with the grumpy man.

"My life savings, my home! Everything I had went into that dear, dear school," the elderly gentleman sighed, "And now I'm forced to sell these instruments," he picked up the trombone, "just to keep it open!" the man exclaimed to no one.

"All the while, that loathsome Jimmy Brown is off gallivanting who knows where," Mr. Langtree growled, pulling off his large coat to reveal his small frame. Extending the trombone, the man held his coat up with the instrument and took his hat off, crawling under the meager canopy it offered, "Not to mention that wild gorilla on the loose."

Letting out a sigh, the homeless fellow spoke on, "If only something would go right for a change…" then promptly fell asleep, snoring all the while.

At that, Hiro got a sudden idea. Turning to his brother, the teen spoke, "Okay, I think he's asleep. Let's go steal his stuff."

"What?" Tadashi and Beatrice spoke at the same time, each with their own tone of disbelief. What was Hiro thinking?

The next morning saw a sunrise as brilliant as the day prior. A drop of morning dew collected on the edge of a leaf, falling on the face of the sleeping elderly gentleman and waking him up. Blinking his tired eyes, the man glanced around him, letting out a shocked gasp at the sight of the missing instruments.

Shrugging the coat off his back, the old man sat up, "The instruments-they've been stolen!" he exclaimed, raising his arms up in lamentation.

"Who would do such a thing?" he questioned, crawling forward and through the bushes. Pushing aside the leaves, the old man gaped in confusion at the sight before him. A large crowd stood in front of a stage, the animal students playing the stolen instruments with skill.

Using one of the teapots from the schoolhouse, Hiro went around collecting money from the onlookers, smiling at his large haul. Gold, silver, and bronze coins filled the appliance, and people were more than willing to continue dropping more into the overflowing pot. Up ahead, a whole wooden tub was filled with coins, the teen dropping the teapot's money into the tub as well.

"What is this…?" Mr. Langtree questioned, coming up to Tadashi as he leaned against a nearby tree and watched all of this take place with a smile, Beatrice sitting on a lower branch.

"It's a benefit concert for the school," the boy explained easily.

"Ah, isn't it grand?" the school's teacher admired, holding her hands to her chest. Coming over to stand with the taller male, the girl smiled broadly, "All these fine people giving out of the goodness of their hearts. Oh, not like my Jimmy Brown," she put her hands to her cheeks, the three listeners all frowning at the name.

"Oh, here we go," the bluebird sighed, not looking forward to yet another musical number.

"All he ever did was steal my heart away," Ms. Langtree sighed, not noticing as a large shadow came upon her.

"Behind you!" Hiro called out, pointing to the beast in hopes of warning the woman.

"Hah!" letting out a gasp, the brunet turned to stare in horror at the beast coming upon her.

"Young man, do something!" the old man turned to look at the college student he had been speaking to.

"Uh," the other replied dumbly, deciding to just let it go to the wind and ran straight ahead at the creature. There wasn't enough time to think! Running forward, the man tripped over his own shoelaces, still untied, and fell forward with a shocked yell. The force of the fall was enough to knock the gorilla over, and surprisingly enough, knock the gorilla's head off as well.

Everyone gasped in shock at the sight, watching as a man seemingly inside the gorilla suit sat up. The fellow's head was now clearly visible, and the blond reached up to pat at it, "Oh, finally!"

"Jimmy…?" Ms. Langtree watched in confusion, shocked by the fact her long-lost lover had suddenly appeared after such a long absence.

"That's right, darling. I was the gorilla," the man replied, placing a hand on his chest in identification.

"But...why did you do it?" she asked, looking confused by the revelation. What reason would her Jimmy have to dress up and scare her children?

"I got a job in the circus so's I could finally buy you that wedding ring," he explained, standing up to meet her, "But when I got stuck in the dang suit, everyone was too doggone scared to help me out."

"Oh, Jimmy," Ms. Langtree swooned, holding her hands to her cheeks, "Oh!"

"Darling," the male replied, hugging his girl close with a smile. Finally they were reunited.

"Heh, nice," Hiro smiled from the stage, a pair of squirrels attacking the detached gorilla head.

Wiping away a tear, the old man smiled at the scene, "I guess the world really is as sweet as potatoes and molasses," he remarked with a small smile.

"One, two, three!" Hiro began again, the band following his cue as he waved a conductor's stick along with the song.

Turning to Beatrice, Tadashi questioned, "So, want me to tell Hiro it's time for us to go?"

"Nah, let him have his fun," the bluebird replied easily.

In front of the stage, Mr. Langtree, Ms. Langtree, and Jimmy Brown all swung back and forth to the music, the other patrons enjoying the song as well. Hiro conducted the band, looking happier than he had all day in his new musical position.

"Hey, Tadashi," Beatrice spoke up, turning to look at her companion.

"Yeah?" the man questioned, looking up at the other curiously.

"Tie your shoe," she commanded, holding out her wing with the order.

"Huh?" the half-Japanese male blinked, looking down at his feet. Oh, right, he still hadn't tied his shoe! Bending down, Tadashi replied, "Oh, right," and got to work on his knots.

Beatrice couldn't help the fond smile from appearing.


End file.
